Baseball: America’s Home Run, Postmasters Suite on Level 2 at the National Postal Museum (Juan Carlos Briceño/Smithsonian)
Please Note: The tour departs by motorcoach from downtown Washington, DC. Content delivered by the study leader on the way to the destination is an integral part of the study tour experience. Meeting the group once the tour is en route is discouraged.
Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required for participation on all tours; additionally, current CDC and Smithsonian COVID-19 guidelines (at the time of the tour) will be followed, including but not limited to masks on the bus and indoors.
Baseball fever is back in the Nation’s Capital, both on and off the field. Spend the day celebrating the glory of the game with sports historian Fred Frommer as you explore some special summer offerings for lovers of America’s favorite pastime.
Begin with a tour of ¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues at the National Museum of American History led by curator Margaret Salazar-Porzio. She tells the extraordinary stories of Latinas/os as you view artifacts of their remarkable lives that illuminate the historic role that baseball has played as a social and cultural force within Latino communities.
Then it’s on to the National Postal Museum to visit the the long-awaited Baseball: America’s Home Run, an exhibition that views our national pastime through a unique postal lens. Curator Dan Piazza reveals the surprising ways that baseball and postal history have been deeply intertwined since the early 20th century. The exhibition highlights artifacts loaned by other Smithsonian museums, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, and historic objects from renowned private collections that have never been on public display.
After lunch at a local restaurant, get ready for the day’s biggest home run: a private tour of National’s Park. Highlights include visiting the FIS Champions Club to view team awards including the 2019 Commissioner’s Trophy from the Nationals’ World Series win; a chance to walk the warning track and visit the dugout and bullpen; and stops at the media center and the private clubs within the stadium.
Frommer is a former reporter and editor at the Associated Press whose most recent book is You Gotta Have Heart: Washington Baseball from Walter Johnson to the 2019 World Series Champion Nationals.
Additional Baseball Program Opportunity: Dive into baseball's history on September 29 with a livestreamed lecture called How Baseball Became a National Pastime.
General Information
- Registration for this tour will end by 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 10, 2022.
- The tour meets at and leaves by bus from the Holiday Inn Capitol, 550 C St., SW. No fringe pick-up.
- For additional tour information:
